Agencies put personnel info online

Agencies put personnel info online

amaxwell@govexec.com

If you've ever wished you could hop on your computer and make some basic changes to your personnel and payroll information in your agency's computer system, the Office of Personnel Management may have a solution for you.

Employeeexpress.gov is an automated system that puts federal employees in certain agencies in control of processing their own personnel and payroll data without using paper forms. Employees can change their federal and state tax withholding status, arrange for paycheck direct deposit, change addresses and make Thrift Savings Plan open season transactions via the Web site.

The Employee Express system grew out of an internal system developed by the Department of Health and Human Services. In 1993, the Personnel Automation Council, known today as the Human Resources Technology Council, asked an advisory committee to examine human resources automation practices. When the committee discovered HHS' system, other agencies expressed interest in participating. What started as a single-department system now boasts 30 participating agencies.

Employees can access the system 24 hours a day to review their current information and make changes. Each employee must enter his or her Social Security number and an Employee Express personal identification number to enter the system. PINs are mailed to new employees by OPM's office in Macon, Georgia.

Gail Guest, a member of the Employee Express user board, said the system "demonstrates how agencies can share their resources toward a common goal and streamlines personnel and payroll processes."

In the future, Employee Express hopes to offer employees the option of purchasing savings bonds and contributing to the Combined Federal Campaign online.

Employees in the following agencies are eligible to use Employee Express:

  • Agriculture
  • Commerce
  • Commodities Future Trading Commission
  • Defense
  • Education
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Farm Credit Administration
  • Federal Communications Commission
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • General Accounting Office
  • General Services Administration
  • Health and Human Services
  • Housing and Urban Development
  • Interior
  • Justice
  • Labor
  • Merit Systems Protection Board
  • NASA
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • National Labor Relations Board
  • Office of Government Ethics
  • Office of Personnel Management
  • Office of Special Counsel
  • Small Business Administration
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Social Security Administration
  • State
  • Transportation
  • Treasury